Member of Sindh Bar Council, Karachi Bar Association and High Court Bar Association;

Advocate, High Court of Sindh.

Career

Associate: Ijaz Ahmed & Associates, Karachi: 2008-2009

Overview

Has worked on various corporate and commercial matters, contentious and non-contentious, including appearances in high courts, civil, district and banking courts across Pakistan; advising in a wide range of commercial transactions including project finance and banking, debt and equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, foreign exchange regulations, enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and insider-trading and notably in the following matters:

Acting for the Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank and other lenders on the 79MW New Bong Escape Hydroelectric Project in Azad Jammu and Kashmir including due diligence on the project documents; advising on conditions precedent documents and all matters pertaining to financial closing;

Acting for International Finance Corporation in relation to the reorganisation of the Engro group of companies in connection with its various debt and equity financings of that group;

Acting for International Finance Corporation in relation to a US$50,000,000 subordinated loan facility to Engro Chemical Pakistan including a conversion option;

Advising AgenceFrançaise de Developpment in connection with (i) a loan to the Government of Pakistan for on-lending to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and (ii) addressing the related queries in relation to the proposed lending operations in Azad Jammu and Kashmir;

Acting for and advising Corn Products International Inc. in connection with its business in Pakistan including its investment in Rafhan Maize Products;

Acting for and advising local and foreign banks in relation to various corporate and litigation matters in Pakistan;

Advising on all regulatory matters relating to the acquisition by way of share sale of a major foreign bank operating in Pakistan through a locally incorporated subsidiary;

Conducted as part of a team, due diligence of a major telecommunications provider in Pakistan in relation to a proposed merger of two mobile operators and assessing the impact of the merger on the loan and security documents;

Acting for Royal Bank of Scotland in connection with its divestment of its Pakistan business;

Acting as project counsel for Uch-II Power (Private) Limited in relation to its proposed capacity expansion project including extensive work on drafting, reviewing and negotiating the project, financing and security documents;

Conducting cases on behalf of airline clients and their insurers in relation to carriage by air of passengers and cargo;

Advising Pakistan International Container Terminal Limited on its prepayment obligations and related issues under the loan and security documents pertaining to the facilities extended to it by International Finance Corporation and the OPEC Fund for International Development;

Issuing opinions to local and foreign corporate entities on various legal matters relating to, inter alia, Company Law, Insider Trading and Property Law;

Acting for International Finance Corporation, Overseas Private Investment Corporation and local lenders in connection with the debt financing of and for International Finance Corporation in connection with its equity investment in a 50MW Wind Farm by Tenaga Generasi Limited, a subsidiary of Dawood Lawrencepur Limited;

Acting for International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and Korea Ex-Im Bank in relation to the Gulpur Hydroelectric Project;

Acting for Overseas Private Investment Corporation in relation to its financing of the 50MW Sapphire Wind Power Project;

Acting for International Finance Corporation in relation to its financing to Imperial Developer and Builders (Private) Limited pertaining to G-4 Tower Project;

Advising Chinese companies in relation to their respective investments in a coal mine mouth power project in the province of Punjab and in a coal power project in the province of Sindh involving imported coal;

Advising a Hong Kong company in respect of the regulatory framework for potential investments in coal mine companies and coal power project companies in Pakistan;

Advising K-Electric Limited in relation to its first power purchase agreement since its privatisation; including carrying out a risk analysis in relation to the prototype power purchase agreement which does not involve a Government of Pakistan Guarantee or any Government of Pakistan compensation after termination;

Acting K-Electric Limited in relation to its power acquisition contracts with Sindh Nooriabad Power Company (Private) Limited and Sindh Nooriabad Power Company Phase II (Private) Limited (each a joint venture company of the Government of Sindh and Technomen Kinetics (Private) Limited) for its 50 MW gas-fired electric power generation plants to be located at Nooriabad, Sindh, Pakistan and conducting extensive work on drafting, reviewing and negotiating of the power purchase agreement, energy wheeling agreement, escrow agreement and purchaser LC facility agreement;

Acting for K-Electric Limited for the 50 MW solar power project of Oursun Pakistan Limited to be located at Deh, Ghairabad, Mirpur Sakro, Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan;

Acting for K-Electric Limited in relation to a power acquisition contract with FFBL Power Company Limited for a 52 MW coal-fired electric power plant and conducting extensive work on drafting and reviewing of the power purchase agreement;

Acting for Pakistan Mercantile Services (Private) Limited in relation to its sale of shares in Pakistan International Container Terminal Limited, a Pakistani public listed company, to a Mauritian company;

Advising Chinese Lenders and Chinese project companies in various projects relating to the establishment and financing of mine mouth power projects and mines in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh;

Acting for the lenders in relation to the SK Hydro and Karot Power Projects including drafting, negotiating and reviewing all transaction documents and advising on matters connected therewith;

Assisting the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, the Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited and various stakeholders, in preparing legislation related to the transition of the National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited to the Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited, as the market operator and purchaser of power from power generation companies;

Advising branches of foreign companies or subsidiaries of foreign companies such as Zorlu group of companies on filing requirements with the regulators;

Advising a foreign car manufacturer on setting up a CKD and SKD business in Pakistan;

Acting for ZorluEnerji in a hearing before the Special Tribunal of National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, on a dispute with Hyderabad Electric Supply Corporation;

Advising Premier Mercantile Services (Private) Limited in relation to the acquisition of various logistics companies;

Assisting as project counsel for Uch-II Power (Private) Limited in relation to the release of all security provided, including extensive work on reviewing the project, financing and security documents and drafting all relevant release of security documents;

Acting for International Finance Corporation in connection with a loan facility to Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited;

Acting for Société De Promotion Et De Participation Pour La CoopérationÉconomique A. (Proparco) in connection with a loan facility to Kashf Foundation;

Acting for Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG and Citibank International Limited in relation to lease of four A321-200 aircrafts to Airblue;

Acting for Apollo Aviation Management Limited, AerCap Ireland Limited and various lenders as local counsel in novation of an aircraft lease for AASET 2016 and AASET 2017 transactions;

Advising various offshore banks and entities in providing finance facilities in Pakistan;

Advising various international clients on establishing company and branch / liaison offices in Pakistan;

Advising Powertek Investment Holdings Sdn. Bhd in relation to indirect acquisition of substantial shareholding in FaujiKabirwala Power Company Limited including due diligence and filing of a pre-merger application with Competition Commission of Pakistan;

Advising a foreign client and conducting due diligence on their behalf in relation to a possible acquisition of a FSRU owner;

Acting for K-Electric Limited in relation to a 453MWRLNG power project with EngroKolachiPortgen, including conducting extensive work on drafting and reviewing the power purchase agreement;

Acting for China Development Bank in relation to its financing of the Thar Coal Power Project including conducting due diligence on the project documents;

Acting as local legal counsel for Shanghai Electric Power Company Limited, in relation to the acquisition of K-Electric Limited, including due diligence and advising on, inter alia, shareholding structure of the power utility company, NEPRA’s tariff renewal mechanism and Pakistan’s listing regulations;

Drafting standard power purchase agreements for coal and dual fuel which are forming the touchstone for K-Electric Limited’s upcoming power acquisition ventures;

Acting for K-Electric Limited in relation to a power purchase agreement with Western Electric Limited for a dual fuel electric power plant, including negotiating on behalf of K-Electric Limited and conducting extensive work on drafting and reviewing the power purchase agreement;

Advising a syndicate of local financial institutions led by Habib Bank Limited and Bank Alfalah Limited to finance the sponsor support obligations of the Hub Power Company Limited in respect of various mine and power projects of its subsidiaries and associated companies;